Saturday, July 12, 2008

Boom Blox: Initial Impressions & Re-review

So I opened the box and BOOM... I was having fun. Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that instantaneous. I still had to put the disk into the Wii. I started off easy on the training levels, and quickly moved to passing the Wiimote around, laughing, and enjoying the multiplayer modes. Before I knew it, it was four hours later.

Sound like a great game? Perhaps. Sound like an A+ game? Even upon initial impressions, Boom Blox is no A+ game.

I remember a quote that went something like... "physics based indie games are the new first person shooter mods. Everyone can do it, and they're not that impressive. You sort of code the physics and watch the game play itself." Boom Blox, being a physics based puzzle game, falls in this category.

The 4 biggest problems with Boom Blox so far are...

The camera

The camera controls in Boom Blox is are some of the best 3D camera controls I've encountered. Using the Wiimote pointer and B button to drag the camera around is direct, intuitive, individual, and dynamic as far as controlling a camera can be.

Unfortunately the core of the game uses the camera to aim.

Because the camera rotates around on fixed ring instead of around the unique contours of the level, aiming at individual points can become very difficult by making distances hard to judge.

The 3D levels can easily obscure view of the interior areas.

The controls

I think there are three throw speeds, and that the Wiimote sends the data from the accelerometers when the A button is released. Perhaps if the game factored in the recent history of accelerometer data like in Drebin#1#2 or Wii Sports, the controls would be tighter.

The shooting gallery Wiimote pointer controls are a little sticky. I think this happens because the aiming reticule is locked for the short period of time when you press the A button to fire. So moving quickly from target to target can create a disconnect between the pointing the player is doing in actual space versus what the game shows.

The Havok Physics

Because all the puzzles are physics based, the all too familiar form of block towers/formations creates unique challenges based off a few rules that we have been internalizing since birth.

Unfortunately, because the goals are reached through "open ended" physics reactions, there is a significant amount of random "error" or seemingly random results even when trying to reuse the same winning strategy.

The Primary Mechanic "Aim and Topple"

Pulling is a very interesting mechanic that involves the most interplay out of all the primary Boom Blox mechanics. Pulling a blox directly affects the blocks around it. If things start to get out of control, you can pull a block in such a way as to correct the balance of the blocks around it. Aside from complications due to how the pull controls are calibrated relative to the camera angle, the pull mechanic is direct, fairly intuitive, and dynamic.

The throwing and shooting mechanics can start chain reactions. However, these mechanics are singular and work one at a time. The design doesn't leave a lot of opportunity for interplay. And even in the cases where interplay exists between multiple throws, working with the camera, aiming, and throwing can complicate the execution.

Boom Blox employs dozens of different variants...It adds up to an impressive variety in terms of the goals, the actions required to complete them, the properties of the blocks themselves, and the sheer volume of levels.

the motion controls are subtle, responsive, and impeccably precise...The angle of each throw is dictated by where you place the cursor after positioning the camera, and the speed of your throw is reflected quite accurately using the Wiimote's accelerometer (generally falling into one of three speeds)....but it so squarely nails every movement that you can forget about the controls and simply enjoy the experience.

but gamers rarely get to impose such immediate and complete control over the environments they interact with.

It's incredibly satisfying...and, unlike firing a weapon or driving a car, it's something that all players -- no matter how casual -- can enjoy without having to fully understand their visual relationship to it.

Boom Blox is simply a laundry list of great features and options wrapped around an incredibly fun, expertly designed, and well-tuned puzzle game.

It's a casual game made for a casual crowd

The words in bold are the examples that most clearly apply to the guidelines I covered in How To Write A Critical Video Game Review. Boom Blox definitely has some charm, but for the single player experience, that charm has worn off. All the variety and creativity has fallen apart because of the game's heavy reliance on physics and mechanics with little interplay that require analyzing targets in 3D space and wrestling with a 3D camera.

As a critical-gamer I don't believe in hardcore or casual game design. There is only good and bad design, and Boom Blox falls somewhere in the middle.

In the end, if a reviewer can't clearly explain why a game is good enough to warrant a high score, then chances are the game isn't good enough.

5 comments:

On the controls section, you mention the Recent History of accelerometer data in Drebin#1#2 and Wii Sports. I agree about Drebin#1#2, but I don't think Wii Sports uses any history in its calculations. Are you referring to a specific game?

Are there any hazard blocks which need to be avoided in the knock everything over mode?

You mention that there isn't a lot of interplay. Is there potential to improve this using the level editor?

How well designed are the levels in the game?

Does this game work best as a single player or multiplayer game? I'm mostly looking at design here, because just playing with friends can arbitrarily increase the fun.

Of course Wii Sports does. Try swinging the golf club. After the club makes contact with the ball, the game continues to read the Wiimote data to determine the strength of the swing. So, you can hit the ball very softly and then speed up at the end to still achieve a hard hit. I believe baseball and tennis are the same way.

There are some hazard blocks, yes. But the basic strategy doesn't change much. I found that I could blindly throw balls around without surveying the level and get a gold medal on my first try.

Interplay is mostly locked by the nature of the mechanic. In Boom Blox, after you throw a ball, there really isn't much else you can do but repeat the same action and throw another. Perhaps if you have access to multiple mechanics and you built a level to support that fact, you can present some cases of elevated interplay. But I think this is the case for most games with level editors. You can always create a special/strict case to highlight something that doesn't occur naturally within the normal game.

Level design? Well, they're almost all towers of some sort. And because the towers are 3D with their internal blocks hidden behind the exterior blocks, it's hard to understand a level the more complicated it becomes.

Some levels are clever, but for the most part (from what I played) the levels are a wash.

So far, it's all about multiplayer for me. The intricacies and even the interplay increase in many of the multiplayer modes when compared to the single player.

I wouldn't say that playing with friends arbitrarily increases the fun, but I know exactly what you're talking about. Doing almost anything with friends can be fun whether it's watching a bad movie or playing a bad game.

Oh, and I was pretty sure Wii Sports Golf detected the swing right at the bottom of your swing. I think it uses gravity as a frame of reference. This always annoyed me when I was putting until I figured that out. Does this make sense?

Your pool example is spot on. The additional cool part about Boom Blox multiplayer is that you don't have to wait for all the blocks to stop moving before you throw. To make the analogy, it's like stepping up in pool and hitting your shot while all the balls are still rolling around.

This creates a push-pull, set up-knock down interplay.

Boot up Wii Sports and see for yourself. All accelerometer tech uses gravity as a reference. But I think I know what you're talking about.

Updated Critical-Glossary

All +All -

Critical-Glossary

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Alphabetical

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abstract mechanic

Some gameplay mechanics are completely artificial, meaning they do not make logical sense based on the form of the game. When such mechanics are privileged within a game's design, we tend to label these games as being "arcade" like. I describe these gameplay mechanics as being abstract.

It is a design innovation that applies to games that are played in real time. By taking the progression of real time and breaking it down in specific contextual ways, a new level of game design can be reached. This is the essence of asynchronous time, or async.

In music, Counterpoint is the writing of musical lines that sound different on their own, but harmonize when played together. How the melody of a song interacts with the other lines is the focus of Counterpoint.

Counterpoint, in gaming, is a word for the way gameplay develops past optimization by layering interactive elements into a single gameplay experience. When each layer influcences, interacts, and enhances the functions/gameplay of each other layer the gameplay emerges into a medium of expression that reflects the individuality of a player and the dynamics that reflect the complexity of the world we live in.

A measure of how the changes in the method of input are paralleled with the action in the game according to the form of the mechanic. If you quickly press the green button on your controller, does the game quickly press the button on the screen? If you hold the button on your controller, is the button on the screen held down as well?

An measure of how the game world responds to the action. According to the form of the game world and the mechanic, does the world react realistically? What is the extent of the properties of the mechanic? Are the reactions to the mechanic special cases or can the resulting actions continue to effect the game world?

Like Marxist criticism, the most successful Feminist critique of a game involves analyzing how the range of player functions that affect female characters directly or indirectly reveal the operations of patriarchy. When the player is encouraged or forced to play in a way that depicts men as strong, rational, protective and women as weak, emotional, submissive, and nurturing, then the game can be said to support and reinforce patriarchal genders roles and ideologies. Patriarchal values work to oppress women, and all feminist theory and criticism works to promote women‘s equality. A Feminist analysis can become more complex when finding examples of actions toward women if a game doesn’t feature any women or the game allows for limited interaction with women. Writing essays about such games often leads to finding evidence by absence. In other words, a Feminist critic’s central piece of evidence may be what can’t be done to women instead of what can.

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flow

How a game accelerates or creates forward momentum. This factor of gameplay isn't necessarily about speed. More specifically, it looks at how a game's interactions feed back into the player's options/experience like a snowball rolling down hill.

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folded level design

Level design that resuses a space with the second use containing an extra layer to the gameplay that builds on the knowledge and experiences established on the first layer.

Form fits function is a powerful game design principle that has powered many of Nintendo's greatest games. Using familiar visuals, games can use their form to communicate to the player. If there is a ball resting on a tee and the player avatar has a golf club in their hands, they better be able to swing the club and hit the ball. Otherwise, why put such things in front of the player in the first place? Keeping the form true to the functions and limits of a game creates the cleanest most easily enjoyable experiences.

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function creates form

When a game's mechanics inspire, shape, and define the creation of ancillary parts of a game. ie. story, setting, premise, characters, music, audio

Interplay is the back and forth encouragement of player mechanics between any two elements in a game. Put simply, interplay is where actions and elements in a game aren't means to an end, but fluid opportunities that invite the player to play around with the changing situation.

A measure of the degree to which input method matches the form of the game. If there's a green button on the screen, and a green button on your game controller, the form of the game is liked to the input of pressing the green button on the controller.

Like Psychoanalytic criticism, Marxist criticism can seemingly critique a game by looking solely at a its fiction. However, both of these critical modes, in relation to videogames, achieve a deeper, more profound level of analysis when the elements of interactivity between the game and player are taken into consideration. Many Marxist critics of literature believe that film, literature, art, music, and other forms of entertainment such as videogames are the primary bearers of cultural ideologies. While we’re being entertaining by these medias, our defenses are lowered making us all the more susceptible to ideological programming. A Marxist critic of videogames looks for how a game supports or condems capitalist, imperialist, or classist values. Perhaps the best and most obvious place to look toward in games is the role and function of money. Some games represent money with actual U.S. dollars or some other form of real world currency. Others use fictional currency from bell, to gil, to star bits, or even points. What the player can purchase, how these items or services function, and how the money circulates within the game world all become important areas of analysis.

"New Classical criticism focuses on identifying a game's primary function/action that sums up all of the player's actions, functions, and abilities into a single expression. This expression can be thought of as the interpretation of the game or what the gamer is actually doing when he/she plays. Sometimes the primary function can be encapsulated in a single word. For example, the primary function of the Super Mario platforming series is "jump". After the primary function is identified, the New Classical critic then looks at a game's formal elements to analyze how they promote the primary function. The formal elements include Sound, Music, Art style, Story, Graphics, level design, enemies, etc. Because the New Classical critic privileges interactivity over passivity (especially when focused into a limited number of rules and actions), such a critic is only concerned with how these elements shape the gameplay experience, and assumes that any formal element in a game is only meaningful when it supports the primary function and exists in a lower state of priority to that function. In other words, elements like story can't be more stressed and more important to a game than the gameplay. Even if a game is designed according to the conventions and assumptions of Western game design, it can still be critiqued in the Classical mode."

A type of multi-fold level design where the creases and layers are so flexible and/or dynamic that considering the possibilities within a single level are interconnected and complex. Considering the shape created from a multi-fold level is similar to observing an origami figure.

For those who aren’t careful, a Psychoanalytic critique of a game appears to only be concerned with the fiction of a game and the relationship of the characters. Unless the game is Psychonauts, most games seem to have little to nothing to do with the human psyche. Neglecting how the game fiction and the gameplay (or game rules) come together to create the Psychological work in a game is a common pitfall. Another easy pitfall is to get wrapped up in Psychoanalyzing the developers of the game, or what may be infinitely more embarrassing, accidentally analyzing one’s own psychological state while trying to pass it off as an analysis of the game. Though it is true that the fiction of a game is an important part of any Psychoanalytic analysis, the gameplay is where the most profound sources of material because the interactivity of the game can influence and transform the player in more powerfully subtle ways than a passive medium.

The set of mechanics that do not make up the set of primary mechanics. These mechanics usually aid and help shape the primary mechanic.

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sections (sub-sections)

All games can be broken down into sub-sections or sections. Whether a game is broken down by rooms, loading sections, cut scenes, stages, levels, rounds, or turns, if a game has a mechanic that is repeated, then it can be divided into sections.

Structures are probably the most recognizable feature of videogames. Because structures create the foundation for the game rules and player to learn these rules, analyzing structure develops a clearer insight into how a game works at its core. We're all familiar with the structures of genre. Any gamer can instantly recognize a first person shooter like Halo from a puzzle game like Tetris. Each gaming genre has a certain look to it that is the result of the gameplay structures. Like with any genre, the degree to which the conventions are followed or deviated from varies greatly from game to game. Recognizing a game's structure is an acute way of talking about how a game works in or outside of its genre.

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suspension

In counterpoint, when a game element or game idea is offset form the established pattern of game ideas to create scenarios where the element/idea can carry over and influence other game ideas.

...about Critical-Gaming

We have come to a point where how we talk about video games is insufficient in expressing how we feel and think about them. With each year comes increasingly complex games, yet we are still, for the most part, writing and talking about games on a shallow consumer level.

It is time to start thinking and writing critically about games. However, before we can do this, we must approach gaming from a critical mode or mindset. To do this, we must first understand of how the different parts of a game work together (game design). Unfortunately, many of the who have experience in this area spend their time making video games. Beyond that, the body of knowledge that does exist is scattered at best. For this reason, it is hard for a thorough understanding of game design and critique to become widespread.

I have started this blog in efforts to inform both gamers and non-gamers of the complexities of gaming and how it compares to any other art form (music, literature, movies). Using literary critical theory and music theory as a starting point, I have developed a comprehensive set of critical modes for video game critique. By writing in these critical modes, and by critiquing other video game reviews, I hope to raise our understanding and expectations of video game journalism, critique, and even video games themselves.

We already have a loose idea of what it means to be a core gamer. A casual gamer. And a hardcore gamer. I hope with the right mindset, we can become critical-gamers, who don't shun our fellow gamers for thinking deeply about games but embrace the change we wish to see in the world.